Meteors

( Updated: 08/20/2013 )

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A meteorite contrail is seen over Chelyabinsk, Russia, on Feb. 15, 2013. A meteor streaked across the sky above Russia’s Ural Mountains, causing sharp explosions and reportedly injuring about 100 people, including many hurt by broken glass. Chelyabinsk.ru/AP

A circular hole in the ice of Chebarkul Lake where a meteor reportedly struck the lake near Chelyabinsk, about 930 miles (1500 kilometers) east of Moscow, Russia, Feb. 15, 2013. A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over Russia’s Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb Friday, its sonic blasts shattering countless windows and injuring nearly 1,000 people. AP

Travelers on a highway from Kostanai, Kazakhstan, to Russia's Chelyabinsk region, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, captured a meteorite contrail on video, using a dashboard camera. This is a frame grab from the video. Nasha gazeta/AP

An image of a rock called 'Block Island,' the largest meteorite yet found on Mars, comes from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Analysis of Block Island's composition, using the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, confirmed that the meteorite is rich in iron and nickel. It measures about 60 centimeters (two feet) across. This is a false-color, red-green-blue composite view. Cornell University/JPL-Caltech/NASA/AP

A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky over the village of Kuklici, Macedonia, known for its hundreds of naturally formed stones that resemble human beings, on Aug. 13, 2012. The village is near Kratovo, 80 kilometers (49 miles) east of Skopje, the capital. Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters

Robert Ward displays one of two pieces of a meteorite he found at a park in Lotus, Calif., April 25, 2012. The meteor was probably about the size of a minivan when it entered Earth's atmosphere with a loud boom about 8 a.m. the previous Sunday, and is believed to be between 4 billion and 5 billion years old. Rich Pedroncelli/AP

A meteor streaks across the sky near Lafayette, Ind., during the annual Geminid meteor shower Dec. 13, 2012. The meteors radiate from the region of sky containing the constellation Gemini, which gives them their name. Michael Heinz/Journal & Courier/AP

Meteors from the Leonid meteor shower appear in the night sky over the ancient city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, on Nov. 18, 2009. Forecasters define a meteor storm as 1,000 or more meteors per hour expected to streak across the sky during the shower's peak. David Longstreath/AP

Astronomers watch the Perseid meteor shower at an observatory near the village of Avren, east of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, Aug. 12, 2009. Petar Petrov/AP